YREKA – Siskiyou County Superior Court Judge Karen Dixon ruled last Thursday that Lukes Steven Ladewig – the Montague man accused of murdering his 30-year-old wife Katie Pierce in October – will be held to answer to the charges.

The ruling followed Ladewig’s preliminary hearing in the Siskiyou County Superior Court during which Deputy District Attorney Monique Neese and Ladewig’s public defender Andy Marx questioned Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) officials about the homicide investigation.

Ladewig, 30, is charged with murder and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime as well as special allegations for causing serious bodily injury. He faces a series of other special allegations for previous domestic violence-related convictions.

An autopsy performed shortly after Pierce’s death confirmed that she died on Oct. 18 as a result of blunt force trauma to the head which caused bleeding on the brain. Ladewig was arrested shortly after her death.

Authorities responded to the couple’s residence on Oct. 17 following a 9-1-1 call.

SCSO Detective Yves Pike testified in court that when he arrived at the scene, he observed Pierce lying on the bathroom floor unconscious and she appeared to have bruising on her face.

She was transported to Fairchild Medical Center and then air-lifted to Mercy Medical Center in Redding.

Pike testified that he observed vomit, blood and other bodily fluids on various items in the household and “signs that there had been a struggle.” In addition, he stated that in the kitchen garbage can, he discovered pieces of broken glass and small rocks that were consistent with the ones in the couple’s fish tank.

SCSO Detective Jacque Morlet testified that he questioned Ladewig while Pierce was on life support in the Redding hospital. He said Ladewig had a swollen lip, some scratches and abrasions on his knuckles – an injury that Morlet said Ladewig explained was the result of an accident while he was sweeping.

He told the court that Ladewig initially denied striking his wife, and later stated that he and Pierce had a mutual fight because she had consumed alcohol.

“[Ladewig] did not appear to have much remorse for his actions,” Morlet stated. “He admitted to slapping, shoving, pushing and kicking Katie,” and in the midst of the altercation, Ladewig reportedly admitted to pushing her toward the couple’s fish tank.

Morlet told the court that Ladewig stated during the interview, “I did not mean for this to happen. I’m sorry, fellas. I don’t want to be the person who killed my #!@#&*% wife.”

Ladewig was notified that Pierce was brain dead and she would be taken off life support per his instruction, Morlet testified.

Page 2 of 2 - Morlet told the court, “Ladewig said emphatically, ‘She is dead. They are going to pull the plug tomorrow and that is basically my decision.’”

Pierce was pronounced dead at Mercy Medical Center on Oct. 18.

Following the investigators’ testimony, Neese stated, “I believe The People have shown that this was not an act of self-defense … He may have not intended for her to die but he was the cause of those internal injuries that resulted in her death.”

While SCSO Lt. Mark Hilsenberg testified at the hearing that the toxicology report conducted during the autopsy indicated that Pierce did not have alcohol in her system, Marx pointed out that the blood clot which resulted from her brain bleed was not tested for alcohol. He said if it was it would have indicated whether alcohol was in her system at the time of the altercation.

Dixon stated that whether or not Ladewig’s alleged actions were initially intended to be carried out for the purpose of self-defense, they went above and beyond what was necessary to protect himself.

She ruled that he will be held to answer to the charges and she ordered for Ladewig to continue to be held in the Siskiyou County Jail without bail. Dixon scheduled him to reappear in court on Dec. 18 for further proceedings.

According to Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus, Ladewig served a prison term in 2002 for a domestic violence conviction and he was on probation for a separate domestic violence conviction involving his wife at the time of this incident.